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What makes a pop song, a pop song?
- Thread starter Zoltea
- Start date
Aobaru
Floooooon!
- Pronoun
- he
I think pop music is music specifically intentioned to be exposed to a large audience via radio, mass advertising, etc.
cf. Indie music
cf. Indie music
Yarnchu
Yarn is comfy and easy to wear
To me, Pop Music is music engineered to have a large audience and to simply make a lot of cash. The music doesn't have to be good per say, it just needs to have that omph behind it to make it to the target audience(young kids-young adults mostly). Thus, Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber. Or is that Beiber? I could never spell his name correctly.
It also has the very annoying tendency to be the only thing many people listen to and invade my mostly VG-filled life everyday. >:( But that's a personal issue I have with it.
EDIT: Gah damn why am I taking something in Insanity so seriously? I didn't even realize it was in here....
It also has the very annoying tendency to be the only thing many people listen to and invade my mostly VG-filled life everyday. >:( But that's a personal issue I have with it.
EDIT: Gah damn why am I taking something in Insanity so seriously? I didn't even realize it was in here....
shy ♡
whispers in gay
That's not the definition of pop music. Mika, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Madonna - so many incredible artists (artists) make pop music. Just because a few stupid kids make pop music as well doesn't mean that's what defines the art form.
Minish
*
- Pronoun
- they
So Metallica is pop music? They're popular. So are Megadeth.
Tailsy
if the nineth lion ate the sun.
- Pronoun
- she
I don't think those are popular in quite the same way, Minish. Your point isn't very good.
I don't think that pop music is geared specifically towards the younger market. I like pop music! (Maybe I should just burn in hell for daring to enjoy the mainstream :O) In fact, a lot of people 'like' pop music - even if purely because it's catchy rather than them specifically enjoying the genre. That's the whole point, so it gets stuck in your head and sells massively.
Pop music is music that is engineered to be enjoyed by the majority of people.
I don't think that pop music is geared specifically towards the younger market. I like pop music! (Maybe I should just burn in hell for daring to enjoy the mainstream :O) In fact, a lot of people 'like' pop music - even if purely because it's catchy rather than them specifically enjoying the genre. That's the whole point, so it gets stuck in your head and sells massively.
Pop music is music that is engineered to be enjoyed by the majority of people.
Yarnchu
Yarn is comfy and easy to wear
Hold it bro, I was specifically mentioning what it is to me. And just because I brought up bad examples doesn't necessarily mean I hate it. I just rather listen to something else is all.
shy ♡
whispers in gay
This discussion is rather silly. The definition of a music genre isn't a fluid term. Just go ask someone who specializes in the music field and they will tell you the definition. The fact that the majority of members on this forum do not have a degree in music or some other form of knowledge on the matter more than 'I like music' and access to the internet, pretty much means our speculation is just... floundering.
Which, I suppose, is why this is in the Insanity subforum?
Which, I suppose, is why this is in the Insanity subforum?
Zoltea
Zoltea - The Jolteon
Tailsy wins. :P
Karkat Vantas
Virile God-Snake Tower of Masculinity
Most of the reasons listed in the poll have very little to do with what makes pop music. By definition, pop music is meant to be popular and appeal to plenty of people; but most of these reasons don't define pop.
Like, "high-pitched voices"? I'm assuming you mean annoying, feminine Bieber-ish vocals... Geddy Lee sings falsetto and Billy Corgan sounds like a girl with a sore throat, but neither of their bands (Rush and the Smashing Pumpkins, respectively, but you probably knew that) could really be described as pop.
Writing "the cool sounding music" in a thread that references Justin Bieber is not a very good idea unless you like getting your head bashed in.
The lyrics definitely have something to do with it... you never hear pop songs about suicide or despair, for example. But at the same time, you hear the same themes in the Black Eyed Peas as you would in a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers; none of these are exclusive.
In conclusion, pop music is determined by baby baby baby oh.
Like, "high-pitched voices"? I'm assuming you mean annoying, feminine Bieber-ish vocals... Geddy Lee sings falsetto and Billy Corgan sounds like a girl with a sore throat, but neither of their bands (Rush and the Smashing Pumpkins, respectively, but you probably knew that) could really be described as pop.
Writing "the cool sounding music" in a thread that references Justin Bieber is not a very good idea unless you like getting your head bashed in.
The lyrics definitely have something to do with it... you never hear pop songs about suicide or despair, for example. But at the same time, you hear the same themes in the Black Eyed Peas as you would in a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers; none of these are exclusive.
In conclusion, pop music is determined by baby baby baby oh.
Karkat Vantas
Virile God-Snake Tower of Masculinity
Most of the reasons listed in the poll have very little to do with what makes pop music. By definition, pop music is meant to be popular and appeal to plenty of people; but most of these reasons don't define pop.
Like, "high-pitched voices"? I'm assuming you mean annoying, feminine Bieber-ish vocals... Geddy Lee sings falsetto and Billy Corgan sounds like a girl with a sore throat, but neither of their bands (Rush and the Smashing Pumpkins, respectively, but you probably knew that) could really be described as pop.
Writing "the cool sounding music" in a thread that references Justin Bieber is not a very good idea unless you like getting your head bashed in.
The lyrics definitely have something to do with it... you never hear pop songs about suicide or despair, for example. But at the same time, you hear the same themes in the Black Eyed Peas as you would in a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers; none of these are exclusive.
In conclusion, pop music is determined by baby baby baby oh.
Like, "high-pitched voices"? I'm assuming you mean annoying, feminine Bieber-ish vocals... Geddy Lee sings falsetto and Billy Corgan sounds like a girl with a sore throat, but neither of their bands (Rush and the Smashing Pumpkins, respectively, but you probably knew that) could really be described as pop.
Writing "the cool sounding music" in a thread that references Justin Bieber is not a very good idea unless you like getting your head bashed in.
The lyrics definitely have something to do with it... you never hear pop songs about suicide or despair, for example. But at the same time, you hear the same themes in the Black Eyed Peas as you would in a band like Red Hot Chili Peppers; none of these are exclusive.
In conclusion, pop music is determined by baby baby baby oh.
RespectTheBlade
rage against the dying of the light
Minish
*
- Pronoun
- they
I know. I was pointing out that Minnow's use of the word "popular" was very vague.
#1 bro
FEELING GREAT, FEELING GOOD, HOW ARE YOU?
You guys have it all wrong :(
Pop music is a genre with a certain "sound", much like how rock and blues and folk and classical are all genres with certain sounds. If I were a music theorist, I would be able to tell you what defines pop, much like how I can tell you that rock is music with an accentuated backbeat, and blues is music that prominently features the blues scale.
Being popular does not make pop music pop. This song, (to pick something arbitrary that my friend found when googling his own name) is clearly a pop song, despite the fact that you have probably never heard of this artist. If every pop song somehow winds up on the top 40, then wow, I am going to start work on my pop album right now, I will be rolling in cash!
Additionally, pop music is not necessarily "mass marketed, 3:45, verse chorus verse chorus" music. Imagine if, say, Lady Gaga included a twenty minute song on her next album (or, alternatively, go listen to the song Impossible Soul by Sufjan Stevens). This isn't that ludicrous of a scenario - I can imagine such a song being pretty good as long as there were multiple movements and it wasn't simply the same thing throughout. The idea that this song would not be "pop" anymore is silly, she would not suddenly become a rock musician or a blues musician simply because she decided to stretch it out a bit.
Here's one of my favorite bands: of Montreal. They make somewhat experimental pop music. This song is as weird as anything and is obviously not going to get on the Top 40 anytime soon, but it is unarguably pop (skip to 1:15 to be convinced). I purposefully picked a weird one, but many of their songs are about depression, all of them have wtf lyrics, and many of them aren't verse chorus verse chorus. The one in the link is like, aabcdcde structure or something.
My favorite band, Animal Collective, is an even more experimental pop band. Their pop nature is a little more debatable, but check out this song and decide for yourself. It certainly isn't rock, it isn't electronica, it isn't folk. I don't know what else it could be but pop, but it is clearly never going to get on the radio, nor does it even have that synthy sound a lot of pop does, nor does it have pop lyrics, nor any of the hallmarks of pop. But some part of your brain recognizes part of the chord progression or something, I don't even know, and decides that it's pop.
So yeah, it goes a little deeper than popular vs. not popular.
Pop music is a genre with a certain "sound", much like how rock and blues and folk and classical are all genres with certain sounds. If I were a music theorist, I would be able to tell you what defines pop, much like how I can tell you that rock is music with an accentuated backbeat, and blues is music that prominently features the blues scale.
Being popular does not make pop music pop. This song, (to pick something arbitrary that my friend found when googling his own name) is clearly a pop song, despite the fact that you have probably never heard of this artist. If every pop song somehow winds up on the top 40, then wow, I am going to start work on my pop album right now, I will be rolling in cash!
Additionally, pop music is not necessarily "mass marketed, 3:45, verse chorus verse chorus" music. Imagine if, say, Lady Gaga included a twenty minute song on her next album (or, alternatively, go listen to the song Impossible Soul by Sufjan Stevens). This isn't that ludicrous of a scenario - I can imagine such a song being pretty good as long as there were multiple movements and it wasn't simply the same thing throughout. The idea that this song would not be "pop" anymore is silly, she would not suddenly become a rock musician or a blues musician simply because she decided to stretch it out a bit.
Here's one of my favorite bands: of Montreal. They make somewhat experimental pop music. This song is as weird as anything and is obviously not going to get on the Top 40 anytime soon, but it is unarguably pop (skip to 1:15 to be convinced). I purposefully picked a weird one, but many of their songs are about depression, all of them have wtf lyrics, and many of them aren't verse chorus verse chorus. The one in the link is like, aabcdcde structure or something.
My favorite band, Animal Collective, is an even more experimental pop band. Their pop nature is a little more debatable, but check out this song and decide for yourself. It certainly isn't rock, it isn't electronica, it isn't folk. I don't know what else it could be but pop, but it is clearly never going to get on the radio, nor does it even have that synthy sound a lot of pop does, nor does it have pop lyrics, nor any of the hallmarks of pop. But some part of your brain recognizes part of the chord progression or something, I don't even know, and decides that it's pop.
So yeah, it goes a little deeper than popular vs. not popular.
